Article snippet: Senate Republicans on Sunday described the freshly ended 35-day partial government shutdown as an ineffective and harmful tactic deployed to secure funding for MORE’s proposed wall along the southern border. Fresh off a Friday vote to reopen the government for three weeks, lawmakers described the shutdown as an exercise in futility that harmed Americans, and expressed optimism lawmakers could hammer out a legislative compromise in the next three weeks. “Shutdowns are never good policy, ever,” Sen. refused to rule out the possibility that Trump would allow funding to lapse again in three weeks. “Is the president really prepared to shut down the government again in three weeks?” anchor Margaret Brennan asked acting White House chief of staff signed a bill to fund the government until Feb. 15, ending the longest shutdown in the country's history. The funding lapse was triggered by Trump's demand for more than $5 billion to fund a wall along the southern border, but the short-term spending bill did not include money for the structure. The decision marked a sharp reversal for Trump, and prompted criticism from corners of his conservative base that he capitulated to Democratic opposition after vowing for weeks not to do so. The president's defenders on Sunday framed his decision as a show of flexibility, and portrayed Trump as a willing negotiator. Mulvaney downplayed criticism of the move, insisting on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump will "be judged by what happens at t... Link to the full article to read more